Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - real estate

"Luxury homes replace church in Brentwood, a new normal juxtaposition for Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "a handful of new luxury homes have started hitting the market in Central Austin’s Brentwood neighborhood.

Brentwood Heights, as the community is called, is a 1.4-acre, eight-home co-development from Cascade Homes and Urbane Roost, and the luxury residences come with a hefty price tag: $1.6 million to $1.9 million, according to an Aug. 17 announcement.

It's a price point that even those already living in Brentwood may struggle to afford. But new luxury homes for sale right beside older and cheaper properties is the direction Austin is trending in, Ashley Jackson, 2023 president of the Austin Board of Realtors. The Brentwood area is located a few miles west of where U.S. Route 183 meets I-35.

Two of the homes…

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"High interest rates aren't deterring homebuyers in Austin"

CultureMap Austin writes, "real estate experts now have a much clearer picture regarding the resilience shown in Austin's housing market. The latest Austin Board of Realtors' (ABoR) report revealed that July 2022 was when the Austin-Round Rock housing market initially started stabilizing. If current trends continue, ABoR says 2023 will have a "strong finish."

"We now have a direct year-over-year comparison of when our market began stabilizing, and the big fluctuations we’ve previously seen have started to even out," said 2023 ABoR president Ashley Jackson in the report. "Potential buyers who have been on the fence about purchasing a home should know interest rates are settling, and now is the time to act."

Even with interest rates beginning to…

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"Home prices stabilize after historic highs in Southwest Austin area"

Community Impact Austin writes, "even as Southwest Austin remains among the most desirable and pricier areas of the metro to buy or rent, local data points to the housing market settling down after a recent burst of activity.

Movement toward a more balanced market has been underway since last year with observers crediting broader trends, such as rising interest rates, lasting inflation and more mild job growth, for spurring the changes. Every month in 2023 has seen local homes priced well below 2022 levels and taking longer to sell.

The days of new home listings drawing crowds and selling rapidly are not entirely over, some real estate experts said. Generally, they said buyers now have a better chance to explore their options thanks to narrowing…

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"Austin housing economist: forecast calls for cooling home prices, lower mortgage rates"

Shonda Novak of Austin American-Statesmant writes,  "last week, I attended the Austin Board of Realtors' second annual Central Texas Housing Summit. It was loaded with facts, figures, insights and prognostications about the Austin-area housing market. One panel featured the board's housing economist, Clare Losey; Mark Sprague, a longtime Central Texas housing market analyst with Independence Title; and Selma Hepp, CoreLogic's chief economist who gave a national economic update.

Below are a few takeaways with Losey's outlook for the Austin metro's housing market over the next several months. Losey made the comments in a weekly audio interview called "Driving It Home" that features Losey and the board's CEO, Emily Chenevert.

• Inflation will continue…

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"Mortgage Rates Go Up—Right as the Housing Market Melts Down"

Realtor.com writes, "as much of the country swelters under a heat dome, the housing market is experiencing its own meltdown.

Mortgage rates jumped to 6.81% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the week ending July 27, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from last week’s average rate of 6.78%. And the welcome run of median home prices declining for 42 days flatlined for the week ending July 22.

“The annual decline in the median listing price evaporated, with prices tying year-ago levels this week,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis.

What’s keeping home prices so high—and is there any way for homebuyers to find some sweet relief from the punishing real estate market this summer? We’ll break down what this latest real…

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"First of Georgetown's 3D-printed homes hit the market"

Community Impact Austin writes, "a community of 100 homes being built with 3D-printer technology in Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch neighborhood reached a milestone July 22, when the first model home opened to the public.

What’s happening?

Construction technology company ICON, in partnership with homebuilder Lennar, architecture firm Bjarke Ingles Group and developer Hillwood Communities, has been steadily printing walls using its Vulcan robotic construction systems since the project was announced in November. With the first model home now completed, the group has begun selling its tech-forward houses with the first residents set to move in this September.

A closer look

The 3D-printed homes are made out of ICON’s proprietary cementitious mix, Lavacrete. The…

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"Upscale homes still on rise in Lake Travis-Westlake as real estate market returns to normal"

Community Impact Austin writes, "while many areas in the Hill Country are built out, including West Lake Hills and Rollingwood, the Lake Travis area still has many high-end residential real estate developments in the works.

Residential developments continue to be a significant area of focus in Bee Cave, Lakeway and Spicewood.

“In areas like Westlake, there isn’t anymore land—everything’s developed, so there isn’t room for new construction,” said Michelle Jones, a real estate agent for Grossman & Jones in Bee Cave. “We’re fortunate in our market in Lake Travis because we have land going out toward [Hwy.] 71.”

Jones said although there are a couple of multifamily developments in the area, single-family homes, often associated with a plethora of…

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"Austin moves toward smaller lots for homes"

Austin Business Journal reports, "developers and homebuilders may soon have the opportunity to build more housing in Austin.

Austin City Council on July 20 gave the first nod of approval to a proposal that would decrease the minimum lot size of residential properties.

Introduced by Council Member Leslie Pool, the proposed amendment to the city’s land development code calls for decreasing the minimum lot size from 5,750 to 2,500 square feet or less, with the intention of increasing the variety of housing types possible, including row homes and garden homes.

The proposal also directs Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to alter the code to allow at least three units per lot in single-family zoning districts without requiring existing structures to…

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"As Austin housing returns to pre-pandemic levels, some buyers are seeing opportunities"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "the Austin housing market is starting to look a lot more like 2019, before the pandemic sent demand and prices skyrocketing to record highs.

For the past three years, multiple offers, bidding wars and all-cash deals became the norm for those hoping to get into a home in Central Texas. Now, the picture is changing.

That's the upshot from a report on the June housing market by the Austin Board of Realtors. Here are the takeaways:

• Last month, residential home sales in the metro area declined 8.5% year over year to 3,147 closed sales while the median price dropped 9.6% to $483,000.

• New listings declined 23.6% year-over-year to 4,638 listings.

• The number of homes on the market jumped 38.4% to…

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"As The Austin Housing Market Grows, So Does Its Innovation"

Forbes writes, "Austin, as the country’s fastest growing city and now the tenth largest city in the country, is at the forefront of housing challenges, and taking the opportunity to explore innovative solutions.

Bryan Glasshagel is senior vice president at housing data and consultancy firm Zonda, and tracks Texas markets. He points out that as some of the world’s largest tech companies like Tesla, Samsung, Apple, Meta and Oracle, arrive in Austin, the job growth brings in new housing demand.

The city gained 13 headquarters along with 8 expansions in 2022. Many are tech companies, but others like John Deere, Wise, inKind, INK Games, BAE Systems, and Nomi Health, have entered the market as well.

While adding to the city’s economic base, the…

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